Kelly's Dance Floor

About

Born in the Highland Park neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. My mother enrolled all five Kelly kids in dance class. The boys got beaten up for it. I got tough. I learned to combine athletic power with grace -- that became my signature. I studied economics at the University of Pittsburgh, taught dance to pay tuition, and ran my own dance studio by twenty-one. Tip: Dance for the camera is NOT dance for the stage. The camera can go anywhere the audience can't -- ground level, overhead, behind you. Use that. I choreographed my own numbers in Singin' in the Rain, An American in Paris, and On the Town. The rain scene took one take on a flooded set. I had a 103-degree fever. Fred Astaire was elegant. I was athletic. Together we redefined what musical cinema could be. I brought ballet, jazz, tap, and modern dance to the screen and proved they could all coexist. Stanley Donen co-directed with me -- we pushed each other. He handled the camera. I handled the movement. Perfection takes a partner.

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